PLACE, PERSON AND POWER:
LUNDAYEH/LUN BAWANG AND POSTCHRISTIAN NARRATIVES
by Jay B. Crain and
Vicki Pearson-Rounds
REPRINTED FROM THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
Vol. LXIX
No. 90 (New Series) 2011
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER:
LUNDAYEH/LUN BAWANG
PRE- AND POST-CHRISTIAN NARRATIVES1
by Jay B. Crain and Vicki PearsonRounds
This article explores how modernity for the upland peoples of north
central Borneo provided new opportunities and presented new
challenges to the cultural construction of place, person and power.
To the traditional migration tale, which had authenticated both the
distribution of communities and their relationships, was added the
mission tale, which authenticated membership of individuals and
communities into the kingdom of God. In recent years Pentecostal
revivals have collapsed the distinction between these types of tales.
Tales of spiritual visions deriving from these revivals link place,
person and power in ways which transcend the tension between
traditional and modern versions of power. Below, we describe and
discuss some features of continuity in three narrative texts, the
themes within these textual constructions politically embedded
discourses. Our analysis situates these narratives within the colonial
and post-colonial discourses about Lundayeh/Lun Bawang society.2
We then compare varying constructions of place, person and power
in pre- and post-Christian spiritual narratives and discuss how these
narratives are enacted as various forms of social practice.
D
uring the past 60 years Lundayeh/Lun Bawang oral tradition has
undergone three transformations. Pre-Christian oral traditions expressed
themes of creation, migration, and the relationships between communities.
Mission tales followed the arrival of the missionaries and expressed themes of
authenticating the membership of individuals
2
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER
and communities in the Christian church. Lasdy, recent Pentecostal tales
- which relate encounters with the Holy Spirit - foreground the trials and
tribulations of individuals seeking a path to salvation. Each of these
narrative traditions exemplify forms of moral imagination linking
person, place and power (Beidleman, 1993). Today - as both oral
performances and written texts - these tales (which we here label premodern, modern and postmodern) have become contemporaneous with
each other and constitute alternative media through which people both
construct themselves, their communities and pursue differing goals
within these communities.
Pre-Modern Period and Oral Literature
The Lundayeh/Lun Bawang consider the remote highland valleys
and tablelands of north-central Borneo their homeland from which they
have been migrating into the surrounding lower valleys during the last
three hundred years. Numbering approximately 40,000, they today
reside in the states of Sabah and Sarawak (Malaysia), the province of
East Kalimantan (Indonesia), and Temburong District (Brunei
Darussalam) (Crain, 1978; Datan, 1989).
In the colonial era, the geo-political situation of the Lundayeh/ Lun
Bawang was unique (Crain and Pearson-Rounds, 1997). Although many
tribal groups in Southeast Asia found themselves straddling Europeandrawn state and international boundaries, the communities of the Apad
Wat were divided by a remote border separating two rival colonial
systems - the British and Dutch. These communities had lived for
centuries in the upland plateau region of north central Borneo where
they possessed salt springs, grew vast surpluses of rice, and were
capable of living without the reliance on or interference of other tribes.
Living above the limits of navigable streams, these interior communities
were beyond the reach of the usual raiding parties which terrorised the
existence of so many Borneo communities in the past. Their highly
centralised and quite efficient system of irrigated fields sustained
communities of some size, located near one another.3
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
JAY B. CRAIN AND VICKI PEARSON-ROUNDS
3
Traditional oral literature reflects the nature of the basic structural
features of Lundayeh/Lun Bawang society; competition for influence traditionally in the form of sponsoring great feasts and work projects
associated with marriage and death - was the engine driving this
society. This was especially the case in the Ba areas, those intensively
cultivated upland interior valleys. There, large surpluses of rice and
water buffalo, combined with relative freedom from marauding
outsiders, provided both the means and opportunity for motivated
families to compete for influence. These families interacted within a
system of competition over the control of people, by sponsoring
elaborate marriages involving large-scale exchanges of labour and
valuables or labour intensive mortuary monuments such as nabang
or kawang (Crain, 1992). These relationships were defined, described,
and reflected upon in the pre-modern oral literature.
Langub divides Lundayeh/Lun Bawang traditional oral literature
into three overlapping categories: serita mon, laba' and buek. Serita
mon comprise both Lundayeh/LunBawang myths and legends,
narratives of supernatural or imaginary persons grappling with natural
or social phenomena (Langub, 1992). Laba' span the entire range of
Lundayeh/Lun Bawang oral literature (Maxwell, 1989: 173), take
from half an hour to two hours to complete, and are stylistically earthly
and humorous.4 Buek comprise the majority of the sung or chanted
literature, long sung pieces which contain both history and myth, the
performer using a specialised and archaic vocabulary.
There are three types of buek: mumuh, arin and dadai Upai
Semaring — Lundayeh/Lun Bawang epics, taking more than eight
hours and spreading over many days or nights. Mumuh characterise
war expeditions, historical and mythical heroic adventures of men
and women, and are told using an archaic, rhyming, metaphorical
vocabulary. Arin subject matter is the same as mumuh but the
characters' names differ as well as the tune. Dadai Upai Semaring (the
song of Upai Semaring) refer to the adventures and exploits of the
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
4
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER
hero and first Lundayeh/Lun Bawang Upai Semaring and also contain
specialised and archaic vocabulary (Langub, 1992: 6-7).5 Shorter
buek forms, taking less than half an hour to perform, are the siga',
benging, ukui and tidum. The siga* is sung about a person, place, event,
situation and courtship and could be serious or humorous; some texts
pass from generation to generation while others are improvisational.
The benging aie similar to siga' regarding subject matter, the difference
found in the tune and presentation style. The ukui was sung when
raising the ceremonial pole, nui ulung, at a feast held for the taking
of a head to recount a mans bravery, and were created at the event.
Tidum are children's lullabies.6 People performed siga' or ukui at irau
held to celebrate the return of a headhunting party from a successful
raid or when a person wanted to hold a big celebration for any reason.
When siga' was organised, an image of a crocodile was carved in earth
and an ulung pole was raised. Any man or woman could sing the siga'
or ukui supported by the chorus of the participants, but only a person
competent in siga' or ukui would be the lead singer. Contents of the
narrative would depend on the occasion. For instance, if a man wanted
to ngalap ngadan ("make a name") for himself, he would organise an
irau, carve a crocodile and raise an ulung. Singers who came to the
irau would sing siga' or ukui to praise the person for his deeds and
greatness. At celebrations to welcome a successful raid, singers would
sing praise to the warriors and create verse condemning the victims
(Langub, 1998).
During pre-modern times Lundayeh/LunBawang oral literature
functioned as a major form of entertainment. Mumuh, arin and dadai
Upai Semaring were sung to entertain farmers working in cooperative
work groups. Many types oibuek and labd'were told on the longhouse
gallery to pass away the evening while people wove mats, carved parang
handles and cared for children, when the old could pass stories on to
the young. Their oral literature encompassed their norms, values,
history, social mores, their ethos - mediums expressing ideas and
talents (Langub, 1992: 9-10).
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
JAY B. CRAIN AND VICKI PEARSON-ROUNDS
5
Missionary Period and Oral Literature
Lundayeh/LunBawang were influenced by two missionary
evangelical groups entering their world from two different directions
(Crain, 1992). Canadians and Americans of the Christian Missionary
Alliance worked on the Dutch side of the island and Australians of the
Borneo Evangelical Mission worked in Sarawak.7 Arrival of these
missionaries in the 1930s precipitated a shift in Lundayeh/Lun Bawang
moral imagination and as a result, the modern "mission tale" was born.
Within the colonial literature of Sarawak, the Lundayeh/Lun
Bawang are constructed as troublesome, immoral, warlike drunkards, a
theme taken up with enthusiasm by Borneo Evangelical Mission
workers (Lees, 1979). Unlike the Catholics and Anglicans who tried to
fit their religions into their converts' worlds, the Fundamentalist
missionaries made it clear that the old ways would have to be abandoned.
No longer could the people make and drink rice wine (borak), use
tobacco, the power of dreams, omens and omen birds. Songs, prayers,
and the six-day week replaced their former way of life. Many today still
describe their pre-Christian society as evil and licentious - almost a
trope, translated word-for-word from Drunk Before Dawn.
Modern Lundayeh/Lun Bawang writers have suggested other
factors which influenced their conversion. Sia argues that prior to their
conversion, the Lundayeh/LunBawang were looking for something to
revive their society dying out and suffering from government restrictions
on headhunting activities (Sia, 1989: 104-105). These restrictions
disrupted traditional ways of living ending the associated rituals
significant in reaffirming village solidarity. A general loss of members'
loyalty to their village or regional areas followed the banning of feuds.
Village and regional headmen lost some of their influence with
followers. Conversion was rapid as the people adopted this different way
of life filling the gap created by these changes (Langub, 1984: 77, 79).
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
6
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER
Regardless of cause, the adoption of Fundamentalist Christianity
between 1933 and 1938 affected many aspects of Lundayeh/Lun
Bawang life, particularly the lives of women, members of church
congregations within their communities. Women had access to the same
roles as men, serving as both, gambala (pastors) andpelayan (deacons).
Prior to becoming Christian it was uncommon for women to address a
gathering of people. The church, the people, the movement were
narrated in their stories of this time. People sought not only to distance
themselves from the old pagan ways, but to emulate the missionary zeal
of the Australians. Stories told at evening gatherings were accounts of
Lundayeh/Lun Bawang missionaries working in the service of the
movement to bring Christian conversion to other tribes. Concerns of
bringing as many sheep into the Christian fold were reflected in their
oral narratives - personalised accounts of individual salvation.
Redemption narratives recount how the teachings of the Lord once
adapted to one s own life, served individuals and acted as reinforcement
to gather many to this new found way. Missionary teachings were
passed from individual to individual, village to village, written upon
black boards and expressed in simple drawings, for the majority of
listeners could not read or write. It would be the missionaries who
pushed for and supported literacy among the people, and ultimately
translated the Bible into the Lundayeh/Lun Bawang language.
Postmodern Pentecostalism and Oral Tradition
In 1973, beginning among a group of school-aged individuals in
the Kelabit highlands in Bario, a revival began to spread as the Holy
Spirit moved from individual to individual. People spoke in tongues,
fell into trance. Some exposed secret sins and problems, charms and
fetishes (Bulan, 1996:4l).8 Six teams of people (students and villagers)
quickly moved to share the revival with other communities in the Fifth
Division (Bulan, 1996: 37). In 1975 a second revival occurred, followed
by those in 1979 and 1985.9 It was the revival of 1979 that lead to the
use of prayer mountains as locations for prayer groups. The
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
JAY B. CRAIN AND VICKI PEARSON-ROUNDS
7
emergence of the numerous revivals loosened rigid spiritual authority;
the participation of young people and women became even more
accepted. While the shape of the ministry changed, so too did the actions
of the ministered. The uniformity of both church structure and practice
— elected officials maintaining spiritual authority — was now being
challenged by this notion that God can use "any willing vessel" (Bulan,
1996: 61). Pentecostalism - the speaking in tongues, the outward
displays of repentance, the intercessions with the Holy Spirit,
manifestations of the Devil, the interpretation of signs, and the use of
prayer mountains — were all outward displays that had not been part of
the Christian script. Those who found themselves inclined to the less
demonstrable forms of Christian expression as well as the more
traditional channels of spiritual authority found themselves in the lama
(old) camp. Evangelical followers were labelled baru, new.
Pentecostal oral tradition expresses the spiritual journeys of the
tellers, individuals who experience the workings of the Holy Spirit,
interpret various miracles, act as intermediaries for congregations and
the Lord, have contact with the dead, groups (of mainly women) prayer
warriors who fervently pray to keep evil away. Prophets and prayer
warriors relate their tales to congregations and to individuals who have
spread their narratives widely in newspaper articles and books, tales
described as journeys of spiritual encounters, personal accounts of
inspiration, moral imperatives for the individual, the village, the
Lundayeh/Lun Bawang, humankind.
Upai Kasan and Pentecostal Narratives
While on the surface what appears to be a shift from a "pagan"
belief system guiding Lundayeh/Lun Bawang practice to an imported
"western" model of Christianity, upon closer examination an enduring
system is revealed, reproduced rather than produced anew (Bourdieu,
1995: 36), the productions, themselves products of history, the
individuals, and collective practices (Bourdieu, 1995: 82). When
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER
8
comparing a pre-Christian narrative, Upai Kasan, and the narratives
of two Pentecostal prayer warriors the distinction between the types of
these tales collapses, based on similarities of place, person and power.
A Pre-modern Narrative
The tale "Upai Kasan: a Lun Bawang Folktale" transcribed and
translated by James Deegan and Robin Usad (Deegan and Usad,
1972)10 tells of Upai s encounters with animals and jungle nature which
give him guidance to the proper path and the ultimate reward with the
life as a Racha's son. Upai originates as a mystical being, found as a
half-fish by a childless man who turns into the son of this poor couple
living alone in the jungle. While quite young both parents die leaving
Upai to wander through the jungle, ending up working as a servant for
the Racha, a powerful man in the area. While in his service the Racha
believes a piece of his gold has been stolen and threatens death to the
servants unless it is returned. Upai gets guidance from a snake and
finds the culprit, a chicken who has eaten the gold. The Racha rewards
Upai and grants him his wishes. Upai is counselled by a voice (that no
one else hears) to ask for the best sword in the land, the smallest rat
and the ability to travel to far places. His wishes are granted. Upai s
journey during a years time takes him to a waterfall which instructs
him to walk ten days and nights to retrieve a bamboo water container
located in the ground underneath a fire burning near a shack. At the
house he encounters Tuk Ada Rayeh, a demon that threatens him and
changes form. Upai is tied up. With the help of his rat he is freed. He
beheads the demon, retrieves the bamboo container, and walks back to
the waterfall, where he is instructed to fill it with water and walk back
to the house. He does this and buries the bamboo. From a large cloud
of smoke appears a very handsome man, son of the Racha, who had
been changed into water years ago by the demon. The snake has now
transformed into the second son of the Racha. Both are so grateful for
Upais help that they make him their brother. All three live happily
and peacefully in a better home than all the other Rachas.
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
JAY B. CRAIN AND VICKI PEARSON-ROUNDS
9
Two Postmodern Pentecostal Narratives
The two Pentecostal narratives are texts narrated by two women
prayer warriors11 from Ba' Kelalan, Sarawak, now published in the
Lundayeh/Lun Bawang language in a booklet entitled Kebala Tuhan
("The Lord Said"), by GaritTagal Franklin.
The first testimony was narrated by Maria Gugkang and described
her initial Pentecostal experience in 1973 when she was "slain" for
more than 24 hours during the Ba' Kelalan revival. She described
how God revealed to her all of her sins in visual images and physical
manifestations. While angels took her for a walk she was asked if she
wanted to see the crown of life. She saw many glittering crowns of
different sizes. The angels told her the crown of life would only be
given to the faithful. She was moved to another house where many
people were not able to stand up straight, the light purplish. These
were the doubtful. She was reminded that the one sin she had not yet
confessed was that of doubt, and was warned that if she did not
confess she would end up in that house, with those dead doubters.
She was tested with further questions and then confessed her sins, was
brought back home where she became conscious. Maria then described
how God revealed various things to her everyday. One time the Spirit
asked her if she wanted to look into hell. She was lifted away from
her children and husband who slept with her. Accompanied by four
angels she arrived at a very high hill which overlooked a deep hole with
concrete edges and fire. People moved up and down with the flames,
screaming and suffering. Maria was thrown into the hole by an angel.
She called for a long time to get out. A voice told her that if she was
not faithful she would enter hell. Maria then saw herself walking along
a road with four junctions, a person standing at each. Two people on
her right told her to use a road, which she did. She was told that she
would receive life. She awoke and heard her child crying as she had
been told. Another time she heard calling, saw herself standing in a
field, heard the grass saying that God created us, but does not love us.
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
10
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER
The trees and fields said the same thing. Whoever was created by God
had better praise him. The rocks, stones, worms, bugs, animals, earth
and water said the same thing. A different voice warned of the need to
praise God. Maria answered that it is human beings that need to love
God. God also revealed to her that those with many possessions do not
sleep well at night and those with land are actually only guests who
stay temporarily. She told of how Satan came knocking at her door
one night while she was lying next to her children. She looked out the
window, called, but heard nothing. Satan wanted to give her spiritual
power, power to pray for her blind father. She rebuffed him and yelled
at him to leave. She was told by the Lord s spirit to be strong and not
be discouraged and for the next few months she was approached again
with offers of power, to see other countries and places, to walk on the
walls of the house, to fly to Lawas, to walk on water, to make clothes,
money from the limbs of trees. Each time she rebuffed Satan. He tied
her up with rope and tried to stab her. She called on Jesus and was
saved.
The second narrative was told by Tusi Agong and began with her
encounter with the Holy Spirit for one day and one night in 1973. At
this time all her sins were revealed to her. While she looked into a big
hole one of many locusts stung her. She later learned that she was
stung because she was not marked with the Holy Spirit and was made
an example. A few days later she realised that she could hear but not
speak. This affliction stayed with her for five months during which
time the people in the village believed her mad and did not care for
her. At this time the Lord's spirit told her about her sins. She was also
able to hear the prayers said by a pastor and a women who lived in
a village far away. She faced many tests and was not able to care for
herself or her children, had various encounters with the Devil. During
the fifth month of muteness she witnessed the conflicting powers of
Jesus and Satan. Sent to a hospital in Lawas to determine the cause of
her muteness, on the plane ride Satan told her that her children were
dead and that she was being taken to a big prison. She witnessed her
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
JAY B. CRAIN AND VICKI PEARSON-ROUNDS
11
children's blood flowing while riding on the plane. Jesus told her to go
where the people instructed her. God instructed her not to be shy and
even if they put a knife to her throat to let them do it. When she laid
down at the doctor s request Satan pushed her and she fell upside down.
After examining her the doctor told her that she was not sick and that if
she did not speak they would operate on her. He put a knife to her throat
to scare her. The next day she was sent to Limbang Hospital and Satan
told her she would be thrown into the ocean. Again he mentioned that
her children were dead and that the prison awaiting her was big and
deep. As Jesus had told her, people came and prayed for her and she was
able to move her tongue. They give her husband money as they were
quite poor. After a night of their praying she suddenly was able to speak
to her husband. She was told that the Devils power was like the form of
a deer and has been thrown into the sea. She prayed and the person next
to her became well. Another who was to be operated on also was cured,
as well as a person with a heart problem. Skeptics were in awe. It was
not until she was made mute that she was able to really hear, travelling
an interior solo journey in front of all those who could not see this.
Patterns of Continuity
Both the pre-Christian and postmodern Pentecostal tales are
products of different historical periods, reflect different, if you will,
photographic negatives of the "natives". The tales from both these time
periods attest to authenticate their Lundayehness/Lun Bawangness,
narrative models for negotiating social relations. What appears to be two
very distinct types of tales, when placed side-by-side reveal many
intriguing similarities. Both the tale of Upai Kasan and the prayer
warrior narratives speak to forms of Lundayeh/Lun Bawang morality
using similar mechanisms. The protagonists of these tales act as
intermediaries between higher powers and the Lundayeh/Lun Bawang
people. It is Upai s miraculous birth, sanctioned by higher powers
(Deegan, 1972: 108), and the rebirth of the prayer warriors, as
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
12
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER
a result of their encounters with the Holy Spirit, that situate them as
intermediary agents.
Both Upai and the prayer warriors show extraordinary strength,
courage and endurance, trusting the guidance given them by the
supernatural, Upai on his jungle treks and the prayer warriors while on
their journeys under the possession of the Holy Spirit. Both Upai and
Maria faced similar experiences in that they were tied up with rope by
demons. Upai was saved by his companion rat, as a result of his faith
in nature; Maria rebuffed Satan as he tied her up with rope and tried
to stab her. It was her faith in Jesus that saved her. Both must trust the
voices of things they cannot see be it the voices of nature or that of
God. It is because of Upai s willingness to help others that he found
himself facing adversity. The prayer warriors defined their journeys as
the means to enlightenment, their lessons learned to be shared with
others to help them receive a state of grace.
While on his journey Upai encountered a physical landscape filled
with mystical beings. The prayer warriors elaborated not only on the
physical landscape but on the landscapes in their minds, the encounters
with devils and the Holy Spirit. Upai Kasan and the prayer warriors
interpreted similar symbolic guides and clues which they encountered
- snakes, glittering objects, water (a metaphor for transformation - a
waterfall in the Kasan tale and the sea in Tusi s narrative), and demons.
The three were ultimately rewarded by the end of their narratives but
in very different ways. For his bravery and faith in nature Upai was
rewarded with material wealth and status with his new position in
the Rachas family. Maria preached the evils of material wealth, how it
leads one away from salvation; her reward, and for those following on
the path she has taken, comes in the afterlife.
Upai Kasan was raised by a lower class family, and both prayer
warriors referred to themselves in their testimonies as illiterate and
poor - without intelligence. But, it is the experiences defined in their
narratives that attest to their positions as moral agents, people to be
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
JAY B. CRAIN AND VICKI PEARSON-ROUNDS
13
listened to. Throughout each tale the three encountered demons that
attempted to disrupt the social order. Ultimately it was restored by
Upai, Maria and Tusi who risked themselves for the sake of others.
The telling of narratives provide for "agency play" allowing the
actors to exceed their cultural mandates (Battaglia, 1997: 507). PreChristian tales, such as Upai Kasan, were expressions of mythic heroes,
exploits of headhunters, told in the third person, expressed in a first
person male voice. The mission tales, tales of Christ, were expressed
in third person, followed by the oral and written conversion tales,
expressed by both males and females in the first person. Finally, the
oral and written Pentecostal tales are spiritual journeys told in the first
person. Not only has the narrative agent shifted from third person to
first person, but from male to female. While the pre-Christian tales
for the most part described the power of male agents, the Pentecostal
testimonies of the prayer warriors, mostly female, framed as possession
cult, exemplified the struggles of women for new positions within
both the larger society and their community and church. Here we
see the spiritual gifts of women being tested against biblical referents
by male pastors, perhaps male attempts to control the mystical power
of women? The visions of these modern prophets/prophetesses, once
again recounted in the first person, revive the headhunters quest for
mystical power.12 However, now it is the women, the prayer warriors,
who are coming back from the perilous journeys. Further, while the
pre-Christian narratives described the dangerous task of retrieving a
head, embedded in these tales is the notion of "other" be it in the next
valley, river system, or those who spoke another dialect or language,
living within the varying boundaries defined by European colonials. It
is the Pentecostal tales of the postmodern prayer warriors which have
collapsed these old distinctions tantamount to these male dominated
societies of the past.
There are today four differing perspectives on pre-modern tales. 1)
A rural "modernist" perspective derived from the original conversion
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
14
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER
to Christianity. Those who practise this include the first and second
generation farmers still celebrating the church as Lundayeh/Lun Bawang
and singing the psalm of Drunk before Dawn. For these, the traditional
tales represent the values and heathen practices discarded at the time
people embraced Christianity. 2) An urban "modernist" perspective is
practised by those members of the first generation educated in schools
and universities of modern Malaysia, England and America. These
writers collect tales to authenticate the Lundayeh/Lun Bawang as an
ethnic community vis-a-vis Iban, Kadazan, etc.13 3) An urban
"postmodernist" perspective is practised by these for whom the old tales,
indeed ethnicity itself has become irrelevant to those fully Christian in a
global sense and for whom the literature and pedagogy of Christianity
overwhelms the pre- and post-colonial narratives of person and place.
Finally, 4) a rural "postmodernist" perspective is practised by the prayerwarrior-Holy Spirit prophets who reach back into the pre-modern
narratives of person, place and power to collapse Christianity into
localised expressions of authenticity. Practitioners of each of these
perspectives abhor/cherish/ignore/recreate the pre-modern narratives. In
so doing they contest the constructions of the other.
Enactments
Today pre-modern tales continue as living texts, serve as
postmodern templates for social productions - physical enactments,
performances of these older narratives. Ukui are produced and
performed to celebrate special current events - modern greeting songs
sung by those urban modernists attempt to integrate traditional practices
with contemporary ethnicity.14 The urban modernists publish
transcriptions and translations of pre-modern tales.15 At cultural
celebrations (pesta), they erect the ulung pole and carve the buaya
figure from earth, fending off criticisms from the conservative
(modernist) church members by saying these are just representations of
cultural traditions and make good impressions on visiting dignitaries.
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
JAY B. CRAIN AND VICKI PEARSON-ROUNDS
15
Tales with pre-modern elements are enacted in mountain villages. In
Ba Kelalan we were told how a young man was lost in the jungle for
two weeks, due to the work of two spirits at Mt. Belingit who gave him
a tree root that made him invisible to others.16 Spirits prepared a hut
for him during which time he believed he was lost in a very flat place.
When he saw other people he believed he was seeing wild pigs. Finally
the spirits led him out of the jungle and took the root away from him,
when he became visible. He was found in his fathers field hut. This
event was portrayed as "true", a present-day enactment, a performance
of a pre-modern narrative form. Likewise, the Lundayeh/Lun Bawang
prophet, Agung Bangau (who passed away in 1992) created a spiritual
pageant, replete with costumes, based on directions given him by the
Holy Spirit on the padang in Buduk Nur (Ba' Kelalan) in order to
witness prophesied celestial signs.17 This event reenacted the ngalap
ngadan (name making) celebrations/ narratives of pre-modern times.18
Like heroes described in pre-modern narratives, Agung played with
nature and created miracles.
The church on Mt. Murud has become a site around which many
narratives have been enacted. This church, built in 1992 following a
vision twelve years earlier by the prophet Agung, is today the center
of postmodern Lundayeh/Lun Bawang Christianity. Narrations of
Murud are contested in several ways. The prayer warrior Maria was
given spiritual messages as to when people in particular villages should
go to the church and pray. The urban church leadership, reaching out
beyond ethnic and national boundaries organised ecumenical youth
conferences on the mountain and invited Christians from around the
world to attend a special Murud prayer meeting. Many of the
conservative camp (lama) do not see the need for prayer mountains,
arguing that God will manifest himself anywhere one prays and
complain that the expense and difficulty of reaching the mountain
make it impossible for many to go there. The urban modernists ignore
the mountain church and focus on the meaning of the mountain to
Lundayeh/Lun Bawang history (Tuie, 1990).
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
16
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER
Like pre-modern descriptions of spirits in the jungle, a number
of people described the current day spirit, Puteri Rimba, a beautiful
princess with long hair, bare-feet, and black clothing who was
discovered after the church was built living in a cave above the church
at Mt. Murut.19 She identified herself to those gifted by the Holy
Spirit and has also taken the form of a water buffalo. During services
she took the form of a beautiful woman. Not happy with the activities
that took place at the church she was considered an enemy of God.
The people chased her away with their prayers but she was seen from
time to time.
A significant indicator of the importance of Murud is the quasivillage which has grown there. Families from different villages have
built hundreds of cabins near the church for use during prayer vigils.
This is reminiscent of the settlement at Tanah Baru next to the old
Borneo Evangelical Mission station in Lawas and constitutes a
statement of ownership of, or belonging to, this extraordinary place.
The settlement of Murud has recendy become easier as closer access to
the mountain has been made possible by a timber road.
Timber roads, and the inevitable changes these bring, lead us
to our concluding point. Just as heroes of pre-modern tales acted as
moral intermediaries between the interior communities and coastal
kingdoms, the prayer warrior Maria Gugkang warns the Lundayeh/
Lun Bawang of the Ba' Kelalan valley of the spiritual perils that will
follow from development. As the timber roads open up the interior,
a steady stream of Hilux trucks bring up town goods and transport
people to the bazaar in Lawas. Maria admonishes those whose homes
elaborate this growing reliance on material goods. One of the common
items being hauled up are bags of cement. Difficult to transport and
cosdy, cement has become a favoured and widely-used commodity.
Perhaps, then, it is no accident that Maria described hell as a deep fiery
hole encircled with concrete.
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
JAY B. CRAIN AND VICKI PEARSON-ROUNDS
Notes
1
Support for this research has been provided by a research grant and faculty
summer fellowships funded by CSU Sacramento, a SEAC grant funded by the
Henry Luce Foundation and an Overseas Mission Research Fellowship funded
by the Pew Charitable Trusts. This article derives from a larger project carried
out in collaboration with Lundayeh-Lun Bawang in Sarawak, Sabah and East
Kalimantan (Crain and Pearson-Rounds, 2009). As part of the creation of a
dictionary (Ganang, Crain and Pearson-Rounds, 2008), were collecting and
annotating texts (mediums of representation) which were the productions
of both native and non-native actors. The publication of these texts provide
an accessible compilation of some of the ways the Lundayeh-Lun Bawang
have constructed themselves and have been constructed by others (Crain and
Pearson-Rounds, 1998). This allows for the re-interpretation (indeed multiple
re-interpretations) of the social history of the Lundayeh-Lun Bawang people
both from within and without.
2
The self-referent Lundayeh is used in East Kalimantan and Sabah. Lun Bawang
is used in Sarawak and Brunei.
3
The villages on both sides of the border resided in what were the last acquired
Bornean territories of the Dutch and British; they came relatively late into
the process of what we might call politisation. Their long period of relative
remoteness, the timing of their arrival into the soon-to-be defunct world
of colonial Southeast Asia and their experiences with Christian evangelism
guaranteed these people the status of marginal minorities in the independent
states which emerged from the hubris of World War II.
4
Laba' contain subject matter on hunting, courtship, interactions between the
Lundayeh/Lun Bawang people (Lundayeh/Lun Bawang and the Sultanate of
Brunei - Upai Kasan, PalungSengayan), between Lundayeh/Lun Bawang and
their environment (Tuk Laba and the monkeys and Lamu'Anak Mate and the
lizards), plants and talking animals {Tuk Pelanuk the mousedeer, TukAbuu the
tortoise) and many other things revolving around everyday events (Deegan,
1970: 268). Laba'are told using plain or poetic language, but when not using
a poetic style the performer has to mimic and act out the situation in order to
amuse the listeners (Langub, 1992: 5-6).
5
Another subtype ofbuek, shorter in length (taking half an hour to two hours to
perform) include rini rini (partly sung and narrated, using poetic and rhyming
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
17
18
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER
language that refers to a growing population, migration into new territory and
local wars) Agan Rige (a story sung about Agan Rige\ an ordinary man who
is wise and a success as a farmer, hunter or whatever else he does), dui Sagan
(a story of a longhouse community split over a minor dispute with a leader
named Tuk Sagan, of migration and local wars and is partly narrated and partly
sung) and Tekunuh (sung to praise folk heroes using archaic, poetic language)
(Langub, 1992: 7).
6
These were sung to children to put them to sleep and were pleasant to listen
to; some were passed down from generation to generation, others improvised.
These songs addressed the parents' daily activities in the fields or other
lighthearted events (Langub, 1992: 8).
7
After independence these two organisations moved to establish self-sustaining
native churches - on the Malaysian side, the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB), the
Borneo Gospel Council; on the Indonesian side developed the Kemah Injil
Gereja Masihi Indonesia Kalimantan Timor (KINGMI-KALTIM), the Tent
Gospel Church of the Messiah of East Kalimantan.
8
It is interesting that after so many years people are still able to bring out old
charms to destroy. Whether these have been kept for use or created for the
opportunity to confess, they suggest a continued knowledge of old customs.
9
The first two waves were initiated by younger people while the last two by
the older, the waves getting smaller in size. Each wave had a specific focus:
the first (1973) as repentance, reconciliation, and restoration; the second
(1976) sharing love, joy, and praising the church; the third (1979) prayer and
intercession along with the birth of the prayer mountain phenomenon; and the
fourth wave (1985) focused on a worshiping church, and the advent of a signs
and wonders phenomenon (Bulan, 1996: 43, 46, 48, 53-4).
10
It is interesting, in light of what we discuss below about the differing perspectives
on pre-modern tales, that Deegan himself later became a re-born Christian and
threw away his field notes.
1
' "Prayer warriors" is a term originally given to a small group of women who
accompanied the Ba' Kelalan prophet, Agung Bangau, in his early morning
prayer vigils on a series of hills above the airport at Buduk Nur.
12
These tales reanimate the jungle (now endangered by the civilising forces of
forestry, roads and managed nature preserves) and include the imagery of false
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
JAY B. CRAIN AND VICKI PEARSON-ROUNDS
19
beings, todays devil and demons filling the role of the great spirit (add rayeh) of
the past.
13
If Shirley Lees is the cannon of the lama group of the SIB, then the urban
modernists' trope is the citation of Runcimans (I960) assertion that the
Lundayeh/Lun Bawang are one of the original tribes of Borneo.
14
Examples we have of this include a performance in Long Bawan in 1992 at
the inaugural meeting of the Musyawarah Adat Suku Lundayeh. The theme
involved recounting the experiences of the Krayan Lundayeh since the days
of Dutch rule. Another was created to welcome a visiting church group to a
congregation in Sipitang in 1997.
15
See the books by MeechangTuie (1990, 1995), recordings and transcriptions
by Jayl Langub (Puruh Riung, 1992), Ricky Ganang and others (see citations
in Crain and Pearson-Rounds, 1998).
16
Interestingly Mt. Belingit was the site of one of the celestial signs prophesied by
the prophet Agung in 1985. He commanded the Buduk Nur congregation to
climb the mountain and there some 320 people witnessed two lights appearing
in the sky for over two hours.
17
The lights seen in the sky recall the common use of words describing things
shining, sparkling, glinting which appear in pre-modern tales.
18
As a youth, Agung was said to have been an extraordinary hunter. He was led
by spirits to the location of animals in the forest.
19
When Agung first told people his vision about a church on Murud, many
people were afraid to go because it was a place reputed to have many bad
spirits.
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER
20
References Cited
Battaglia, Deborah
1997 "Ambiguating agency: the case of the Malinowski's ghost".
American Anthropologist 99 (3): 505-510.
Beidleman, T.O.
1993 Moral Imagination in Kaguru Modes of Thought. Washington:
Smithsonian Institution Press.
Bourdieu, Pierre
1995
Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. Bray, Jenny.
n.d.
"Jewell from the darkness". Gaylord Publications.
Bulan, Solomon
1996
"The Bario Revival: a time of refreshing in SIB". B. Min. Thesis,
Bible College of New Zealand.
Crain, Jay
1978 "The Lun Dayeh". In: Victor King (ed.) Essays on Borneo Societies.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
1992 "Religious conversion on the periphery: social and political
consequences of evangelism in upland Borneo". Borneo
Research Council Symposium at the American Anthropology
Association Meetings, San Francisco, ms.
Crain, Jay and Vicki Pearson-Rounds
1997
"Peripheral Vision on the Boundaries of the Kingdom: Some
Reflections on the Relationship between Imperial and
Evangelical Practice in Interior Borneo". Sixteenth Annual
Berkeley Conference on Southeast Asian Studies.
1998
"A provisional bibliographic list of published materials and
manuscripts relating to the Lundayeh-Lun Bawang-Kelabit and
related groups of Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei and East Kalimantan".
Manuscript, pp. 20.
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
JAY B. CRAIN AND VICKI PEARSON-ROUNDS
21
Crain, Jay and Vicki Pearson-Rounds
2009 "The Lundayeh-Lun Bawang dictionary project: Some reflections on
lexicography in the postmodern world". In: Martin, Peter and
Peter G. Sercombe (eds.) Language in Borneo: Diachronic and
Synchronic Perspectives. Pp. 227-242. Philips, Maine: Borneo
Research Council.
Datan, Ipoi
1989 "A brief ethnography of the Lun Bawang of Sarawak". The Sarawak
Museum Journal XL (61): 143-156. Special Issue No. 4, Part III.
Deegan, James
1970 "Some Lun Bawang spirit chants". The Sarawak Museum Journal
18:264-281.
Deegan, James and Robin Usad
1972 "Upai Kasan: a Lun Bawang folktale". The Sarawak Museum
Journal20: 107-144.
Ganang, Ricky Ayub
1998 Personal communication.
Ganang, Ricky, Jay Crain and Vicki Pearson-Rounds (Co-compilers)
2008 Kemaloh Lundayeh — English Dictionary. Phillips, Maine: Borneo
Research Council, Reference Series 1, 451 pp.
Langub, Jayl
1984 "Economic activities of the people of Ba' Kelalan: an overview".
Sarawak Gazette 110: 3-17.
1992 "Lun Bawang oral literature: an overview". Second Biennial
International Conference of the Borneo Research Council, Kota
Kinabalu, Sabah.
1998
Personal communication.
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL
PLACE, PERSON AND POWER
22
Lees, Shirley
1979 Drunk Before Dawn. London: Oliphants.
Maxwell, Allan
1989 "A survey of the oral traditions of Sarawak". The Sarawak Museum
Journal40 (61): 167-208.
Puruh Riung
1992 "Ilan: a Lun Bawang folk-tale". Transcribed by Jayl Langub.
Manuscript, 86 pp.
Runciman, S.
1960 The White Rajahs: A History of Sarawak from 1841-1946.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sia, Raid
1989
1975
"The Lun Bawang of Lawas District: Social change and ethnic
identity". Projek Hubungan Etnik, Institute Pengajian Tinggi,
Universiti Malaya, pp. 267. Tagal, Gerit.
"Bala Mare Kali'". Manuscript, 24 pp.
1997 Kebala Tuhan. Labuan: paperback bound edition. 74 pp. (authors
name listed as Gerit Tagal Franklin).
Tuie, Meechang
1990
Orang Gunung Murut: Kumpulan Cerita Rakyat Lunbawang.
Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Kementerian
Pendidikan Malaysia.
1995 Masyarakat Lun Bawang Sarawak: Suatu Pengenalan. Kuching:
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL